CBI clean
chit upsets anti-Virbhadra campSupporters distribute
‘laddoos’Shimla, August 25The anti-Virbhadra Singh camp in
the state Congress is upset over the “clean chit” given to him by
the CBI in the cases which were referred by the BJP-HVC combine
government to the bureau for investigation.

MLAs walk
out of Cong meetingShimla, August 25Provoked by certain remarks of the
state president of the Youth Congress, Mr Sukhwinder Singh, six MLAs,
who are office-bearers of the PCC, walked out of a meeting of the
general house of the Congress in which Mr Satya Jeet Gaekwad, AICC
Secretary, had come to mobilise partymen for implementing the
recommendations of the Dr Manmohan Singh Committee for raising funds for
the party.

HP signs
pact on water projectShimla, August 25The Himachal Pradesh Government and
the Water and Sanitation Programme — South Asia today signed a
strategic alliance to provide efficient delivery of water and sanitation
service in the state.

Sculpture
stolen from Roerich galleryKulu, August 25A 17th century sculpture of Lord
Ganesha was stolen from the prestigious Roerich Art Gallery at Nagar, 27
km from here, on August 22. Mr Ajay V. Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, told
The Tribune today that the sculpture was missing since Wednesday, but
none of the gallery staff reported the matter either to the police or
the administration.

ISU
sweeps varsity CSA pollSolan, August 25The Independent Students Union,
jointly floated by the NSUI, SFI, and HIMSU (Himachal Students Union)
to keep the ABVP at bay last year, made a clean sweep of the CSA
election of Parmar University, held at the institution's main campus
at Nauni, near here, today.

10-yr RI
for two under NDPS ActUna, August 25The Sessions Judge, Mr R.L.
Raghu, today sentenced Naresh Kumar and Piarey Lal, both residents of
Una town, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of
Rs 1 lakh on each of them under Section 20 of the NDPS Act.

Trees
near Central School face axeShimla, August 25The Secretary, Education, Mr S.
Roy, today inspected the local Central School, which has been closed
since August 13 as a retaining wall had collapsed on the primary
section. He also gave instructions that it could be reopened on Monday
if trees near the school were cut by the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

Building
opened, procedure floutedSundernagar, August 25As many as 60 students of a
primary school at Mahadev are forced to sit in the open as the
construction of the school building is yet to be completed. Two papers
had to be postponed as there was a heavy rain on the examination days.
The building, though incomplete, was inaugurated by Mr Tek Chand
Dogra, a Congress MLA from the Nachan Assembly segment of the subdivision
on August 19.

Shimla,
August 25
The anti-Virbhadra Singh camp in the state Congress is upset over the
“clean chit” given to him by the CBI in the cases which were
referred by the BJP-HVC combine government to the bureau for
investigation.

His opponents in the Congress had allegedly been
patting the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, on the back for having
sent the 26-point “charge sheet” against him to the CBI.

The “charge
sheet” was drafted by close lieutenants of the HVC chief, Mr Sukh
Ram, with whose support Mr Dhumal came to power.

One of these
lieutenants, Mr Kewal Ram Chauhan, who was most active in preparing
the “charge sheet”, was recently admitted into the Congress by the
PCC chief, Mrs Vidya Stokes.

Mr Virbhadra Singh had taken strong
exception to Mr Chauhan’s inclusion in the Congress and described it
as an attempt to belittle him.

Sometime back, Mr Dhumal had said that certain Congress leaders congratulated him for sending the document against Mr Virbhadra Singh to the CBI.

These leaders are also considered close to Mr Sukh Ram.

The
CBI’s refusal to book Mr Virbhadra Singh on the basis of the
allegations in the “charge sheet” could have been used politically
against the BJP-HVC combine government by the Congress, but
interestingly, no mention of the development was reportedly made even
in the general house of the PCC, presided here today by Mrs Stokes.

It
is worth mentioning here that the state government had first tried to
frame Mr Virbhadra Singh through its own investigating agencies —
the Vigilance Department and the Enforcement Wing. However, at least
three ADGPs who headed these organisations from time to time were
transferred when they suggested that no case could be made out against
the Congress leader.

The HVC circles are also lying low following
the CBI’s decision. Their leaders have reportedly been pressurising
the central leadership of the BJP and Mr Dhumal to trap Mr Virbhadra
Singh in the CBI net.

Meanwhile, reports of celebrations by supporters of Mr Virbhadra Singh have been received from various parts of the state.

His supporters offered laddoos to the people here, as well as in Solan, Kangra, Una, Kulu and other places.

Shimla, August 25
Provoked by certain remarks of the state president of the Youth Congress, Mr Sukhwinder Singh, six MLAs, who are office-bearers of the PCC, walked out of a meeting of the general house of the Congress in which Mr Satya Jeet Gaekwad, AICC Secretary, had come to mobilise partymen for implementing the recommendations of the Dr Manmohan Singh Committee for raising funds for the party.

The meeting was presided over by the PCC chief, Ms Vidya Stokes.

Those who walked out were Mr Gangu Ram Musaffir, General Secretary of the PCC, Mr Harshwardhan Chauhan and Mr Kashmir Singh, both Secretaries, Dr Prem Singh, Mr Kuldeep Kumar and Mr Raghu Raj.

It is learnt that the MLAs took objection to certain sweeping remarks of Mr Sukhwinder Singh about the collection of party funds.

Most of these MLAs had been abstaining from the earlier meetings of the PCC and had for the first time come to participate today following the visit of Mr Virbhadra Singh to the Congress office on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi when he had a meeting with Ms Stokes. The MLAs are considered to be his supporters. Another MLA, Mr G.S. Bali, is learnt to have asked him to confine his speech to the achievements of the Youth Congress in this regard. When contacted, Mr Sukhwinder Singh, however, denied he had made any remarks about the functioning of any leader.

Some other senior Congress leaders are learnt to have suggested that Himachal Pradesh being economically backward, the PCC should be shifted to the “C” category which does not stipulate any number of Congress “friends” to be enrolled for contributing Rs 10,000 each to the party. The AICC has put the state in the “B” category under which 3000 “friends” have to be enrolled.

Certain members took exception to the remarks of a senior leader that Dr Manmohan Singh had no knowledge of Himachal Pradesh and he should not have put the responsibility of enrolling 3000 “friends” here.

Briefing newspersons after the meeting, Mr Gaekwad said Rs 108 crore was expected to be collected from the one lakh Congress “friends” and the amount would be put in fixed deposit.

He said the MPs would contribute their one month’s salary to the AICC, while the MLAs would deposit it with the PCC. AICC delegates would contribute Rs 600, while PCC delegates would contribute Rs 300 each.

Municipal councillors and elected representatives of zila parishads would deposit Rs 200 per year with the PCC.

Shimla, August 25
The Himachal Pradesh Government and the Water and Sanitation Programme — South Asia (WSP-SA) today signed a strategic alliance to provide efficient delivery of water and sanitation service in the state.

The Chief Secretary, Mr Harsh Gupta, signed the agreement on the behalf of the state government and Mr Jamal Saghir, Director, World Bank, signed it for the WSP-SA. The programme aims at developing local government institutions and capacity to manage own water and sanitation services.

Under the programme, Sirmour district has been given an initial grant of Rs 20 crore. The WSP-SA will work with the Himachal Pradesh Government to design alternate local government institutions, utilise their capacity and assist the panchayati raj institutions to implement the reform programme initiated in the rural water supply and sanitation sector. At the same time, the WSP-SA would assist the government to carry out reforms in urban and rural areas.

The objective of the alliance between the government and the WSP-SA is to assist the rural population in the state to gain sustained access to improved water and sanitation services.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, said numerous reports and studies in the recent years had drawn attention to the importance of fresh water holds for the world in the 21st century, especially, keeping in view the galloping increase in the population world over.

Mr Dhumal said the initiatives to tackle both issues of financing and efficient and accountable delivery of services in rural as well as urban areas were of immense importance for the state. He said the state government had initiated efforts to involve the local bodies in the management of water.

Mr Sanghir, said efficiency was more important than quantity in term of providing safe potable water. He stressed on the management of water resources and cost effectiveness.

He said the WSP-SA would benefit the people with technical assistance and by sharing global experiences and knowledge.

Mr Junaid Ahemd, member of the WSP-SA team said every citizen should get safe water round the clock.

Kulu, August 25
A 17th century sculpture of Lord Ganesha was stolen from the prestigious Roerich Art Gallery at Nagar, 27 km from here, on August 22. Mr Ajay V. Prasad, Deputy Commissioner, told The Tribune today that the sculpture was missing since Wednesday, but none of the gallery staff reported the matter either to the police or the administration.

He said he would put three employees of the gallery under suspension regarding the theft. The Deputy Commissioner further said in addition to the police investigation, a magisterial inquiry had also been ordered. The Subdivisional Magistrate, Manali, would conduct the inquiry, he added.

He said there were apprehensions that even the cash might have been stolen from the donation box installed at the gallery. Meanwhile, he has ordered to maintain a daily inventory report of the valuable articles being kept at the gallery. The Assistant Manager of the gallery would hand over the report to the gallery guide in the morning and take over the things in the evening.

Mr N. Venu Gopal, Superintendent of Police, when contacted, confirmed that a case under Section 408, IPC, had been registered in this regard. It may be recalled that the Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Commissioner, Kulu, had been taken as unofficial members of the gallery trust to look into the developmental aspects of the famous Russian artists’ collection here.

Solan, August 25
The Independent Students Union (ISU), jointly floated by the NSUI, SFI, and HIMSU (Himachal Students Union) to keep the ABVP at bay last year, made a clean sweep of the CSA election of Parmar University, held at the
institution's main campus at Nauni, near here, today.

ISU candidates won all four posts of the executive body as well as all 17 posts of the class representatives (CRs). Eleven CRs were elected unanimously while the remaining six won with impressive margins.

Vivek Sharma (ISU) has been elected president by defeating Nishet Thakur (ABVP) Anju Bala (ISU) has been elected vice-president by defeating Sunil Kumar (ABVP). Tula Ram (ISU) has been elected general secretary by defeating Ajay Kumar (ABVP), Anam Sharma (ISU) has been elected joint secretary by defeating Rahul Sharma (ABVP).

Una, August 25
The Sessions Judge, Mr R.L. Raghu, today sentenced Naresh Kumar and Piarey Lal, both residents of Una town, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each of them under Section 20 of the NDPS Act. According to Mr Kulwant Singh, District Attorney, Una, 1 kg of charas was seized from their possession by the police at Kuriala village on March 22, 2001.

Shimla, August 25
The Secretary, Education, Mr S. Roy, today inspected the local Central School, which has been closed since August 13 as a retaining wall had collapsed on the primary section. He also gave instructions that it could be reopened on Monday if trees near the school were cut by the Shimla Municipal Corporation.

At least four large deodar trees are precariously standing near the school after the heavy rain. A number of parents accompanied the DFO, Mr Rajesh Sharma, identified the trees which required immediate chopping.

The retaining wall was constructed by the CPWD at a cost of about Rs 23 lakh and it reportedly collapsed within a month of completion.

Sundernagar, August 25
As many as 60 students of a primary school at Mahadev are forced to sit in the open as the construction of the school building is yet to be completed. Two papers had to be postponed as there was a heavy rain on the examination days. The building, though incomplete, was inaugurated by Mr Tek Chand Dogra, a Congress MLA from the Nachan Assembly segment of the
subdivision on August 19.

The procedure for the completion of the building and starting of classes was not followed. No resolution regarding the completion of the building was passed by the panchayat and the last instalment of the sanctioned funds was also not released by the Block Development office.

Jaisinghpur, August 25
The Lambagaon police arrested Naresh Kumar, an employee of Harsh Petro Fuels, on suspicion and produced him in a court at Palampur yesterday. The court remanded him in police custody for three days. The petrol station was robbed of Rs 1.71 lakh by some persons on August 22. According to Mr Gurmeet Singh Khatda, DSP, Palampur, Naresh was at the petrol station at the time of robbery and was arrested as he gave contradictory statements during police investigation.